Raw Pecan Peach Granola

When I created this recipe for Pecan Peach Granola I pondered a bit on what flavors would meld together in my mouth. I searched through my pantry to see what ingredients I had on hand and came up with this recipe. I had some Sucanat sugar on the shelf and decided to play with it a too. Sucanat (Sugar Cane Natural) is sugar in its most natural form. It is extracted from the sugar cane and the freshly squeezed juice is evaporated by a special Swiss process. Only the water is removed. This process preserves all the molasses. Sucanat is organically grown with no added preservatives and additives. However this sugar is not raw. Because of the deep flavor that it adds to the recipe you can substitute Yucan Syrup which is raw and has a distinct flavor that is semi-close to molasses.

Preparation:

Soaking prep – 8 hour warning! You will need to soak your oats at least 8 hrs. I recommend doing that before you go to bed, so come the next morning they are ready to go. see below on how to properly do this. Soak your pecans at the same time but in a separate bowl. Once the soaking process is complete, drain and rinse really well (specially the oats).

Soak dried peaches for 10 minutes. This will rehydrate them, making it easier to dice them up.

In a large bowl combine; oats, pecans, coconut, and dried peaches. Set aside.

In a small bowl combine; honey, rapadura, cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla. Mix well and pour over the dry ingredients, mixing until everything is well coated.

Spread out on the non-stick teflex sheets that come with your dehydrator (or parchment paper) and dry on 105 degrees for approx. 24 hrs.

Store in a glass airtight container. Place in fridge to extend the shelf life.

Oat Soak

1 c. raw, gluten-free oats

2 c. warm water (room temp, and enough to cover and have room to cover swelling grains)